The coffee’s freshly ground, there’s a wide selection of teas and the sticky buns are homemade.

The corporate media in the US wants no part of Glenn Greenwald. The Guardian has no such qualms. Bradley Manning deserves a medal. “The prosecution of the whistleblower and alleged WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning is an exercise in intimidation, not justice.”

“Hopes of an early end to the eurozone’s troubles were fading yesterday as Nicolas Sarkozy launched a personal attack on David Cameron amid growing signs that last week’s agreement struck by the other 26 European Union countries without Britain is fraying at the edges.”

“In another outbreak of right-wing extremist violence, an abandoned mosque located in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood was vandalized early Wednesday and police were assaulted as they attempted to arrest seven suspects in a previous attack on an Israeli army base.”

“Aymara Indian, former coca grower, avowed socialist and Bolivian president, Evo Morales was a living embodiment of the alliance between the Latin American left and the region’s indigenous peoples.”

Sonny’s birthday lunch is next week. I put them in those clear gift bags for everyone last year and they liked them so I’ll do it again this year. Funny, some of us never grow up. We still like prizes.

Did you guys watch the Wilkerson interview with Paul Jay? I thought Wilkerson got a bit defensive with Paul during the 911 portion of the interview. Paul did a good job of keeping him on subject for the most part. I really like that guy. Paul Jay, I mean.

When I was working at WB 30 years ago a boss gave me a box of Godiva. Super yummy, but I still prefer See’s. I just went and looked up today’s prices for Godiva. $45 for a box with 16 truffels.
That’s just plain nuts, or wacky for those who have nut allergies.

Good morning, everyone. I love the laughter (and the chocolate) this morning. It rained ALL DAY yesterday and my little rain gauge shows nearly 1-1/2″ with a little bit more possible later today. Then it gets more seasonably cold.

I do think the Eurozone will self destruct, one country at a time. I can’t think of anyplace in the world that’s calm right now (maybe because those places don’t make the headlines).

And I have to get back to Marx in the morning. I finished part #1 but didn’t get started on part #2 yet. Maybe today…

2) They will not come up with a workable rescue plan until they are willing to either use the ECB as the last resort lender or are willing to give a haircut to the banks that no political contributor will tolerate. I’d be doing my planning with a Euro collapse in mind.

3) If they DON’T allow it to proceed, then what? People are moving off the sewer system, eventually nobody will use it. Portajohns being cheaper is the signal that your sewer is dead.

4) What do you expect when people set their own pay? I’d me making lots more if I could set my salary.

5) Heh. Bibi has to arrest his base without annoying his base. The GOp should pay attention, eventually they’ll have to do the same to the Tea Party.

6) Seems like he’s been a good leader. I would not have expected that, but am pleased to see it.

Boxturtle (OT: Why is it that everytime I try to make Salad dressing with Aged Basalmic vinegar, I fail epically?)

I can’t think of anyplace in the world that’s calm right now
Hey Low, Molly. I was thinking the same thing after reading today’s Dragon Tales. It does seem like the whole world is a mess.
I’m seriously considering pulling an ostrich move for a while.

I watched a couple of short video talks he gave, and what he says (and, how he says it) really resonates with me. By the sharp increase in requests for him to speak, it seems that it does with others, as well.

He says he isn’t being treated like the crazy uncle at the birthday party any longer. It still amazes me, shouldn’t, I know, how effectively the PTB keep the lid on about Marxism or any alternative to almighty Capitalism

That’s why we call it the Diner. We see the topics and will get around to each sooner or later. I like to give people something to read/watch at their leisure, when they have to time to search out related material.

If you’re referring to the link about Morales, note that it’s dated October 25. Since then, Bolivia has agreed to drop the plans for the highway through Amazonia contested by the indigeneous people of the area.

Morales retains popularity throughout Latin America and among the non-Latin people of the Carribean.

I just finished reading Glennzilla’s article above. Bravo. But I am a little surprised that he’s as openly critical of Obama and the U.S. when writing in a British newspaper. Not that he said anything he shouldn’t, but it sure was a public slap. Pretty much what he says in his Salon columns, which I read without fail.

I want to skim through the comments to see the reaction to the article.

The discussion goes in many directions.
If you have an interesting, provocative comment that will encourage a reply, I strongly recomment you make one.
Talking about chocolate does not preclude a conversation about any of the political issues.
Hit me with your best shot, MD. *g*

Simple is best. Olive oil in a small bowl, pour in the vinegar until it looks like about a third of the oil. A crushed garlic clove, small amount of dijon mustard, crank or two of the pepper mill. Whisk it up.

Have you read his article on the Defense authorization bill. I will say he is very thorough. I think fascism has arrived with the passage of this bill. Bush and O have done everything in the bill up to this point but now it’s legal.

You never saw See’s? Too busy being a Paul-bearer? Not nice to cast a Paul on my morning, it’s a rough one already. Had to pick a 200 pound friend up off the floor after he went down yesteerday, and he was a dead weight. Now, I’m crippled. :-(

I don’t know what brand it is, but last year someone gave me something that looked like a small, wrapped, hockey puck. It was some sort of dark chocolate with red pepper. omg. I need to find it again. Any ideas, y’all, as to what that was. It was really grainy, as I recall. So good.

Plans for a proposed highway that would cut through Bolivia’s Amazon rain forest, linking Brazil to ports in Chile and Peru, have been put on hold following protests by activists and allegations of excessive police force.

Good morning SD and all the pups. Yves Smith has a good (but very geeky) account for at Naked Capitalism this morning on how the shadow banking system works and how it can blow us all up. You have to be patient, and it would probably be a good idea to go over to Wikipedia for a refresher on Repos, but it’s worth the effort. The basic point is that the re-hypothecation (reassigning as collateral) of assets in repo trades works just like the old money multiplier you learned about in Econ 1. The hypothecated assets work just like bank reserves that create a huge endogenous money supply on the basis of a thin reserve base. And unlike the reserves, this stuff is unregulated.

Yeah, I know that. Although he does seem to be doing lots of interviews since his latest book came out.

Unfortunately, Salon isn’t read by a lot of the people who need to read what Glenn has to say. Neither is the Guardian, I’m sure. But that article doesn’t paint a very pretty picture, and it’s loaded with links back to his columns at Salon.

Never decaf! Or anything that claims to be “Light” or “Fat-free.” Ugh. My friend has late stage MS, ain’t getting better, he falls two or three times a week, this time I happened to be there. He always pretends it doesn’t hurt. Me, I get extra sore anytime I do any real bending or lifting, so this will probably be with me for a few days. “Never better” is the way my friend always responds to inquiries about his condition. Gotta love his spirit. :-) He’ll probably suffer more today for screwing up a buy trade I tried to get him into yesterday afternoon, as he’s already missing out on a nice profit. That hurts him more than anything.

I just finished installing an updated AdBlock Plus (it installed automagically when I restarted Firefox) and it seems they are trying not to block “non intrusive” ads, so as to recognize the need for smaller websites to place ads that will provide some revenue to keep them in business. The page came up with a big FAQ that was very interesting. The ads they don’t block must meet certain criteria, and they’re working with advertisers. An AdBlock user can still override this and block all ads.

Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is “learning on your own” or “by yourself”, and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός (autós, or “self”) and διδακτικός (didaktikos, meaning “education/teaching”). The related term Didacticism defines an artistic philosophy of education. Self-teaching and self-directed learning are contemplative, absorptive processes. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. A person may become an autodidact at nearly any point in his or her life. While some may have been educated in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to educate themselves in other, often unrelated areas.

As you know, most of this is balance sheet shifts among the most unproductive entities that exist — greatly expanding interdependence and systemic risk. These are very different than the old money multiplier in which commercial banks created money by actually lending to customers who were going to spend it. These actors don’t “spend” the reserves; they speculate with them.

This increases the systemic risk to the system without promoting spending and growth one bit — except, perhaps, to drive up commodity prices. It all just keeps the big casino going. Help the economy? Not so much.

I simply cannot keep up with the pace of comments this morning and I am in overdrive. Wanted to read the Rocky Anderson article, but I’ll go back later.

SD, do you think that Occupy would ever get behind him (or any) candidate? I don’t know if I think that would be a good or a bad idea. I am concerned that if we don’t have a choice other than the Uniparty, in this election, that we are going to be a fullblown fascist state before the next one.

I know, it isn’t a sprint. But isn’t there a point at which turning this thing around becomes impossible without a violent revolution if it goes too long?

Sounds like me and my current quest for the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie. My latest version has granulated sugar and molasses mixed (i.e., make your own brown sugar) and they are rich and soft and tasty, but not quite as chewy as I want. A local bakery makes the ones I’m trying to duplicate, and if I don’t quit I am gonna put on weight now that my bicycle is up for the winter.

You are being awfully generous with your description of the, “governor,” and we are absolutely going to be trying to get a few more hundred thousand signatures than the minimum.

The WI GAB (Government Accountability Board) who oversees the certification of the petitions is hiring 50 extra staff personnel to process things and every one of these are going to specifically be “pro-Walker,” people. Go figure.

Well then cut them up in the salad itself. You can use bigger chunks if you do that, and the effect is better. I like to use tomatoes for the red color and sometimes yellow bell peppers for their color. Because they’re slightly less ripe than the red ones, they’re a little stronger flavor.

In the winter when I can’t get local fresh tomatoes, I buy Campari. They’re like oversized cherry tomatoes (close to 1-1/2″ in diameter) and have a really good tomato-ey flavor.

Poached eggs just make me think I’m sick. Just had a cup of coffee on the porch, and noticed it’s a gloriously beautiful morning here in Atlanta, so there’s that. OTOH, I unknowingly tracked dogshit all over my girlfriend’s house last night, didn’t discover it until I brought her back from the airport. You wouldn’t believe the dirty looks Riley is giving me. Not to mention the girlfriend. I rely on occurrences like this to kepp me humble. :-(

I don’t think you should feel you are “ignored” popyeye. I’ve learned after being here at FDL for a few years that the conversation in the threads moves pretty fast (even the ones that have a particular topic), and you can feel ignored just because nobody happens to comment on something you say.

I don’t think it is personal at all, or a reaction to your comment. In fact, if your comment is provocative you usually WILL get a reaction. But don’t think because nobody responds that they are deliberately ignoring you. Not so.

Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold — roughly $45,000 for a family of four — because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family’s income.

We have the tools at our disposal to fix this. Tax the wealthy and corporations at the Eisenhower levels. Use the money to provide free, top quality child care for every child in the country, putting loads of people back to work in the process..and on and on and on. I’m sick of this shit.

I know, but I actually understood from where she was coming. It was ok. Sometimes, when folks get on my nerves, I have to check out moi first before responding. It’s usually a signal that not all is well somewhere in my psyche.

It is a learning process. The environment in the comments at each blog is often quite different. This is the only place I read much of the comments. There are far too many at Glenn’s to read, once I’ve waded through his very LONG posts. I don’t usually read more than a few at Krugman’s. I enjoy the comments at Charles Pierce’s Politics blog at Esquire. Usually only a few and they can be as funny as his posts.

I try to respond when I have some knowledge of the subject other wise I just lurk. But I have read a lot of things in the past 3 years and have a grasp on what’s going on in the country. One of things I see is that some are set in their ways of thinking and don’t welcome new thoughts. Present company excluded.

And you (we all) really do have to realize that the word on the page, in a blog comment or an email, is missing facial expression and tone of voice, so is often easily misinterpreted. And then we’re astonished when a comment is taken wrong. “Did I say that? I didn’t mean THAT!”

“You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in our guided trips, llama rentals, drop camps or llamas for sale or because you are an old college roommate (and I mean really old) or we found your address in the bottom of a trash can.“

I’m taking off too.
Take care, Southern Dragon. Take care all other dawgs too.
I appreciate the coffee and the chat.
I really kind of moving into a place where I think I will avoid human encounters for the most part, for a while anyway. So, I appreciate the comfort of friends first thing in the morning.

Ain’t it the truth? I was just thinking yesterday that there’s a big difference in the flavor of her comments compared to a few months ago, when she was just the sweetest and most whimsical creature you ever saw. Now, she’s Che with a brassiere. (Just guessing about that last part lol.) I guess Darwin was right. We evolve.

Hey bro I don’t take it personally but there are other points of view. Like I said I have done intensive reading on the history of this country and I like to share that. You have been very cordial in welcoming those comments. It is just an observation for the ones who just lurk.

Speaking for myself, I read many quality comments that teach me something I did not know before, and I absorb them gratefully and gracefully without responding. I only respond if I have something to add, either additional info, or an insight I think may be helpful, or even just a (hopefully) humorous riposte to brighten the day. Contribute what you can, and take out what is useful to you. But always know you are a respected part of the community. ;-)

I’m freezing. I’m always thankful for the excuse to sink my arms down into this hot water, and who knows what the hell I’ll come back up with? It’s like Christmas every day :) This one says: I’ve Already Told You More Than I Know. I think I’ve washed this one before. Strangely, that makes sense to me today.

Susan Webber, the Principal of Aurora Advisors, Inc., a management consulting firm, who is a Harvard History and Lit. undergrad and a Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration Concentrated in Finance and General Management, 1981 MBA, and who writes under the pen name “Yves Smith” has it a bit backwards.

Her example has the bank giving up cash (“You take your $200 million to the bank, to Lehman Brothers, say. You deposit it, so to speak, overnight so you can have access to it the next morning if you want to”) in a repo in return for a bond that has a face value 90% of the value of the cash, getting I presume a higher overnight rate for the credit risk increase assumed by the bank.

Later she discusses the bank hiding bad assets – which is the opposite of the above – the bank is getting rid of excess credit risk – via “re-po”.

Then she discusses the fractional reserve multiplier effect, noting that in the bank good asset/take on more risk scenario, and a 90% of face bond security, there is a multiplier of 10. Of course act two in this scenario is the bank giving up a bad asset to get a worse asset.

I wish there were real public policy level discussion by an actuary or an economist – are you listening Paul Krugman – on this. I am tired of the analysis that we are getting – having – at least in my own mind – so many questions on the presentation she made.